Container with folded panel portions

ABSTRACT

An erectible panel portion is erected and held in selfsustaining relationship to another panel portion in a container by means of a projection formed on one panel portion abutting a wall in the other panel portion adjacent a fold line. The projection is formed by an offset cut at the fold line. Also, a shipping container is disclosed having a plurality of panels in which at least two panels are planar and lie flat against each other with the container in an unassembled condition. One of the two panels is provided with a fold line for folding at least one portion of the panel away from the other panel to extend transversely thereof. The folded portion of the panel is supported in the transverse condition by means of a projection provided by an offset cut at the fold line to extend from the folded portion on the opposite side of the fold line and engage the other panel.

United States Patent [191 Eifrid [11] 3,834,610 Sept. 10,1974

[ CONTAINER WITH FOLDED PANEL PORTIONS [76] Inventor: Stephen L. Eifrid,850 Jay Dr.,

Downers Grove, Ill. 60515 [22] Filed: Apr. 18, 1973 [21] Appl. No.:352,277

[52] US. Cl 229/40, 206/424, 206/521, 229/14 C, 229/33, 229/44 R [51]Int. Cl. B65d 5/02, B65d 5/22 [58] Field of Search 229/14 C, 87 R, 40,37 E, 229/37 R, 33, 39; 206/46 FR, 62 R; 220/6 Primary Examiner-WilliamI. Price Assistant Examiner-Bruce H. Bernstein Attorney,'Agent, 0rFirmFitch, Even, Tabin & Luedeka [57 ABSTRACT An erectible panel portionis erected and held in selfsustaining relationship to another panelportion in a container by means of a projection formed on one panelportion abutting a wall in the other panel portion adjacent a fold line.The projection is formed by an offset cut at the fold line. Also, ashipping container is disclosed having a plurality of panels in which atleast two panels are planar and lie flat against each other with thecontainer in an unassembled condition. One of the two panels is providedwith a fold line for folding at least one portion of the panel away fromthe other panel to extend transversely thereof. The folded portion ofthe panel is supported in the transverse condition by means of aprojection provided by an offset cut at the fold line to extend from thefolded portion on the opposite side of the fold line and engage theother panel.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 1 CONTAINER WITH FOLDED PANEL PORTIONS Thisinvention relates to containers or the like and more particularly tocontainers having panels with portions folded and erected to form thecontainer.

Various containers such as shipping cartons, closed containers ordisplay containers, are manufactured in a flat blank to facilitateshipment and storage. Typically, such containers are comprised ofpaperboard or corrugated board which is suitably creased, scored, cut orslotted to define fold lines and panels or portions thereof and tofacilitate folding and erection of panel portions relative to oneanother.

Particularly in packaging operations, portions of the panels are oftendesired to be folded and erected and held in an erected position withoutan external support such as the packers hands so that the packagingoperation is simplified. In the case of hand packing of shippingcontainers, free standing folded panel portions allow a packer completefreedom of hands to fill and complete packing and assembling of thecontainer without'having to use one or more hands to hold the panels inthe upright position. Also in automated packaging operations, theability of panel portions to be selfsustaining in an upright positionmakes it unnecessary to design elaborate fixtures to hold them uprightthereby greatly facilitating and simplifying the packing operations.

The present invention will be described hereinafter in connection with,although is not limited to, a shipping container for books which haspanel portions folded and erected into an assembled condition from aflat blank. The illustrated container is relatively low in cost andsimple to manufacture and assemble.

Accordingly, a general object of the invention is to provide an improvedcontainer of the foregoing kind.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled inthe art from the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cardboard container constructed in accordancewith the invention and in an unassembled condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 1 in partiallyassembled condition; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, enlarged, taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a panel having one portion held atangular dispositions by another portion of the same panel and embodyingthe invention.

As shown in the drawings for purpose of illustration, the invention isembodied in a container having a plurality of panels ll, l2, l3, 14, and16 erected from a flat blank. The panel 15 has a crease or fold line 17therein for folding a first portion of the panel away from the panel 12to extend transversely thereof, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The panel 15also has a cut 18 therein offset from and interrupting the fold line 17to provide an edge projection 19 extending from the folded portion ofthe panel 15 on the .opposite side of the fold line 17 therefrom. Inthis embodiment of the invention, the projection 19 engages the panel 12as shown in FIG. 3 and retains the folded portion of the panel 15 in aposition transverse to the panel 12.

More particularly, the illustrated embodiment of the invention comprisesa container formed of double faced corrugated board in the general shapeof a parallelopipe in which two of the sides are recessed. When in anunassembled condition, the container is comprises of a flat blank havingthe outline shown in FIG. 1 and comprising a front panel 11, a bottompanel 12, a back panel 13, a top panel 14, and a top flap 2]. A foldline or crease 23 separates the front panel 11 from the bottom panel 12,and a fold line or crease 25 separates the bottom panel 12 from the backpanel 13. A fold line or crease 27 separates the back panel 13 from thetop panel 14, and the top flap 21 is joined to the top panel 14 along afold line 29.

In unassembled or blank condition, the corrugated board containerillustrated is completed by two additional panels 15 and 16 which areplanar and which lie flat against the remainder of the blank to form adouble thickness. The panel 15 includes a first portion in the form ofan elongated strip 31 which extends along the one edge of the flat blankand which is contiguous with a second portion 33 of the panel 15.Similarly, the panel 16 comprises a first portion in the form of anelongated strip 35 which extends along the edge of the flat blankopposite that from the strip 35 and which is contiguous with a secondportion 37 of the panel 16. As will be explained, the second portions 33and 37 of the panels 15 and 16, respectively, are eventually foldedupwardly to comprise the sides of the container when the container is inassembled condition.

The panels 15 and 16 are secured to the flat blank by any suitablemeans, such as an adhesive or staples. Suitable fold lines are providedalong the strips 31 and 35 coinciding with the creases 23, 25 and 27 toallow the container to be folded into an assembled condition. The mannerof folding is illustrated in FIG. 2, the container being in a partiallyassembled condition.

In order to allow the foldable second portion 33 to be folded upwardlyfrom the plane of the paper as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fold line 17is provided. A similar fold line 41 is provided between the foldablesecond portion 37 and the strip 35 in the panel 16. A cut 18 is providedin the panel 16. A cut 18 is provided in the panel 15 and interrupts thecenter portion of the fold line 17. A similar cut 43 is provided in thepanel 16 interrupting the center portion of the fold line 41. Each ofthe cuts is offset from the fold line, having a pair of short segmentsat each end extending transversely to the fold line and having a longersegment joining the short segments and extending parallel with the foldline but spaced therefrom. Each cut therefore provides an edgeprojection 19 and 45, respectively. The fold line is interrupted by thecut in each case, that is, the fold line does not extend across the baseof the projections 19 and 45 formed by the cuts 18 and 43, respectively.

As the foldable second portions 33 and 37 and projections 19 and 45 arenot adhered to the underlying panel 12, these second portions 33 and 37may be folded upwardly as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. As is illustrated inFIG. 3, when the foldable second portion 33 of the panel 15 is foldedrelative to the first portion 31 to be disposed at an angle thereto, abottom wall 46' of the edge projection 18 moves into engagement with apanel 12 and aids in supporting the foldable second portion 33 in anupright condition. The cuts are formed so that the projections 19 and 45extend a slightly greater distance than the thickness of the respectivepanels 15 and 16. In this manner, the projections are forced to havetheir bottom walls 46 abutted against the bottom panel 12. Also, as willbe explained in greater detail in connection with FIG. 4, the cuts 18and 43 form in the first portion a stop wall 47, which may abut againstface wall 48 of the second portion at the projection 19 for holding thesecond portion erect.

Once the sides of the container are erected to the upright position asshown in FIG. 2, assembly of the container is readily completed. Thecontainer is shown in partially assembled condition in FIG. 2. Tocomplete assembly, the front panel 11 is moved up so that it abuts theadjacent edges of the sides, and the back panel 13 is moved to a similarcondition. The top panel is then pressed downwardly against the topedges of the sides, and the top flap 21 is folded over against theoutside of the front panel. The top flap may be secured in such positionby any suitable means.

The container of the invention affords a number of significantadvantages. The container is rigid, and has strong support for thesides, particularly against forces tending to urge the sides outwardly.This is because of the hinges 17 and 41, and because of the resistanceprovided by the inner edge of the strips 31 and 35 once the container isin the assembled condition.

The present invention has been described above in connection with ashipping container for books in which the erected second panel portion33 or 37 is a portion of a reinforcing strip panel 15 or 16 which is apanel separate from the main blank panel 12. In other types ofcontainers including display containers, the container may comprise buta single piece blank such as the panel 12 and hence there will not bepresent an underlying panel against which the bottom wall 36 of theupright second portion 33 may abut so that the en tire holding of thesecond portion 33 in the upright position would be due to the engagementof a stop wall 47 formed by the cutting operation at the cut 18 abuttingagainst face wall 48 of the projection 19 as best seen in FIG. 3. Thiswill be better understood after consideration of the embodiment of theinvention illustrated in FIG. 4 as will be described hereinafter.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, reference characters with thesuffix a added are used to describe a panel 15a similar to the panel 15except that the panel 15a may comprise an entire container blank such asthe blank 12. In any event, the panel 15a and folded erected panelportion 33a lack any underlying panel such as the panel 12 described inconnection with FIGS. 1-3. More specifically, the panel portion 33a hasa projection 19a formed by the cut line 18a which is offset relative tothe fold line 17a. When the cut 180 was made, the cut formed a stop wall47a along substantially the length of the cut so that the face wall 48aon the upstanding projection 19a abuts the stop wall 47a to prevent itfrom pivoting downwardly to a generally flat position. When the panelportion 33a is folded, the projection 19a is forced through the slotformed by the cut 18a with the projection and stop wall 48a deflectingand staying in abutting relationship. It is the abutment of theprojection 19a with the stop wall 47a of the first panel portion whichholds the second panel portion 330 upright thereby eliminating the needfor separate fixtures or the use of ones hands when erecting or fillingthe container. Thus, in each of the above embodiments of inventionillustrated in FIGS. 1-3 and FIG. 4, the ability of the panel portionsto stand up independently and without further support, either byfixtures or by hand, simplifies the erecting operation and alsofacilitates the packaging operation. In the case of hand packing, itallows a packer complete freedom of the hands to complete packing andassembly of the container without having to maintain the sides in anupright position. In automated filling and assembly operations, it isunnecessary to design fixtures for holding a portion of a panel erect.Accordingly, the container of the invention is readily assembled andgreatly facilitates and simplifies the packing operations.

It may therefore be seen that the invention provides I an improvedcardboard container of the type which may be folded into an assembledcondition from a flat blank. The container of the invention isrelatively low in cost and is simple to manufacture and assemble.

Various modifications of the invention in addition to those shown anddescribed herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Such modificationsare intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a partially assembled container being erected from corrugatedboard material or like material, the improvement comprising a panellocated in a plane, a fold line in said panel dividing said panel intofirst and second portions, said first portion being folded at said foldline to be disposed angularly relative to the plane of said secondportion, one of said portions having a cut therein offset from andinterrupting said fold line, an edge projection formed by said out andextending at said fold line, and a stop wall formed by said cut abuttingsaid edge projection which is projecting angularly relative thereto andholding said first and second portions at said angular dispositionagainst the return of the first portion toward the plane of said secondportion.

2. A container in accordance with claim 1 in which a flat, planar secondpanel is secured to said first panel in face-to-face engagement and inwhich a bottom wall on said edge projection abuts said second panel toassist in retaining said first and second portions at said angulardisposition.

3. A container in accordance with claim 2 in which said edge projectionhas a height which is larger than the thickness of said panel from whichsaid edge projection is formed to insure abutment with said secondpanel.

4. A container made of corrugated board or the like comprising aplurality of panels, at least two of said panels being planar andsecured flat against and in en gagement with each other with saidcontainer in an unassembled condition, one of said two panels having acrease therein for folding one part of said one panel away from anotherpart of said one panel and away from the other of said two panels toextend transversely thereof with said container in an assembledcondition, said one panel having a cut therein offset from andinterrupting said crease to provide an edge projection, said edgeprojection having a bottom wall formed by said cut, said edge projectionextending from said folding part of said one panel on the opposite sideof said crease therefrom to engage said bottom wall with said other ofsaid two panels and to retain said folding part in a position transverseto said other of said two panels, and an adhesive means securing saidpanels flat and in engagement with each other adjacent the location of isaid crease and holding them against separation by a force appliedthereto by said edge projection.

5. A container according to claim 4 wherein said out comprises first andsecond segments transverse to said crease and a third segment parallelwith said crease and connecting said first and second segments, saidcrease being interrupted between said first and second segments.

6. A container according to claim 4 wherein said projection is slightlygreater than the thickness of said one panel.

7. A container according to claim 4 wherein said foldable part of saidone panel is adapted to extend perpendicularly of the unfolded part withsaid container in the assembled condition.

8. A partially assembled multi-panel assembly of corrugated board or thelike for erection into a container comprising, a plurality of panelsincluding a bottom panel, a pair of planar strips secured at oppositeends of said bottom panel flat against said bottom panel, a pair ofsides, each of said sides being planar and being contiguous with arespective one of said strips, means securing first portions of saidsides flat against said bottom panel with said container in a partiallyassembled condition, said sides being joined to said strips at a creaseand being folded away from said bottom panel to extend transverselythereof, each of said sides having a cut therein offset from andinterrupting said crease to provide an edge projection extending fromsaid side on the opposite side of said crease therefrom, and each ofsaid sides having a free end wall opposite said edge projection, saidedge projection abutting said bottom panel and serving as the solemeans'for retaining the sides in upright position transverse to saidbottom panel with said container in a partially assembled condition.

1. In a partially assembled container being erected from corrugatedboard material or like material, the improvement comprising a panellocated in a plane, a fold line in said panel dividing said panel intofirst and second portions, said first portion being folded at said foldline to be disposed angularly relative to the plane of said secondportion, one of said portions having a cut therein offset from andinterrupting said fold line, an edge projection formed by said cut andextending at said fold line, and a stop wall formed by said cut abuttingsaid edge projection which is projecting angularly relative thereto andholding said first and second portions at said angular dispositionagainst the return of the first portion toward the plane of said secondportion.
 2. A container in accordance with claim 1 in which a flat,planar second panel is secured to said first panel in face-to-faceengagement and in which a bottom wall on said edge projection abuts saidsecond panel to assist in retaining said first and second portions atsaid angular disposition.
 3. A container in accordance with claim 2 inwhich said edge projection has a height which is larger than thethickness of said panel from which said edge projection is formed toinsure abutment with said second panel.
 4. A container made ofcorrugated board or the like comprising a plurality of panels, at leasttwo of said panels being planar and secured flat against and inengagement with each other with said container in an unassembledcondition, one of said two panels having a crease therein for foldingone part of said one panel away from another part of said one panel andaway from the other of said two panels to extend transversely thereofwith said container in an assembled condition, said one panel having acut therein offset from and interrupting said crease to provide an edgeprojection, said edge projection having a bottom wall formed by saidcut, said edge projection extending from said folding part of said onepanel on the opposite side of said crease therefrom to engage saidbottom wall with said other of said two panels and to retain saidfolding part in a position transverse to said other of said two panels,and an adhesive means securing said panels flat and in engagement witheach other adjacent the location of said crease and holding them againstseparation by a force applied thereto by said edge projection.
 5. Acontainer according to claim 4 wherein said cut comprises first andsecond segments transverse to said crease and a third segment parallelwith said crease and connecting said first and second segments, saidcrease being interrupted between said first and second segments.
 6. Acontainer according to claim 4 wherein said projection is slightlygreater than the thickness of said one panel.
 7. A container Accordingto claim 4 wherein said foldable part of said one panel is adapted toextend perpendicularly of the unfolded part with said container in theassembled condition.
 8. A partially assembled multi-panel assembly ofcorrugated board or the like for erection into a container comprising, aplurality of panels including a bottom panel, a pair of planar stripssecured at opposite ends of said bottom panel flat against said bottompanel, a pair of sides, each of said sides being planar and beingcontiguous with a respective one of said strips, means securing firstportions of said sides flat against said bottom panel with saidcontainer in a partially assembled condition, said sides being joined tosaid strips at a crease and being folded away from said bottom panel toextend transversely thereof, each of said sides having a cut thereinoffset from and interrupting said crease to provide an edge projectionextending from said side on the opposite side of said crease therefrom,and each of said sides having a free end wall opposite said edgeprojection, said edge projection abutting said bottom panel and servingas the sole means for retaining the sides in upright position transverseto said bottom panel with said container in a partially assembledcondition.